Fence-post.



mnmnnn w m B. F. CARPENTER.

FENCE POST.

APPLICATION IILBD MAY10, 1912.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

A TTORNE Y8 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CARPENTER, OF POCATELLO, IDAHO.

FENCE-POST.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

Application filed May 10, 1912. Serial No. 696,519.

T at! whom itmag concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CARPENTER, a citizen of theUnit-ed States, and a resident of Pocatello, in the county of Bannockand State of Idaho, have made certain new and useful Improvements inFence-Posts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in fence posts and it consists inthe constructions, combinations, and arrangements herein described andclaimed.

An object of my invention is to provide 1' a one piece post which may bedriven directly into the ground and which does not re uire tamping.

1 further object of my inventlon is to provide a post with means forholding the fence wires securely,'but' in such a manner 'panyingdrawings forming part of this 40 as shown in the drawings;

application in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the post, Fig. 2 is aface view thereof, Fig. 3 is a plan view, and Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of a portion of the device.

As stated above the post is made in'one" piece, this being preferably ofchannel iron,

The post consists of a body portion 1 having the lateral flanges 2 and3. As will'be seen from Fig. 1, these flanges are narrower at their topsthan at their bottoms. near the ground line G, and from this pointdownwardly they bend outwardly and are flattened into a spade-likeportion 4:, which is slightly concave, and which is sufficiently taperedtoward the bottom 4 to enable it to be easily driven into the ground.

In order to provide means for attaching the fence wires 5, I provideslots extending inwardly from the free edges of the flanges 3 and 4.Certain of these slots, such as those shown at 6, extend fartherinwardly They are widest.

and are provided with an inverted U-shaped portion at their inner iends,while the slots 7 are shorter and are provided with U-shaped portions.It will be observed that the slots 6 in the member 3 are in practicalregistration with the slots 7 of the side member 2, as far as height isconcerned, but the ends of these slots are offset in a lateraldirection. The purpose of this will be eX- plained later. The bodyportion 1 of the post is provided with a series of threaded openings 8in which the hooks 9 (see Fig. 3) may be inserted for the purpose ofholding the fence wires 5.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device theoperation thereof may be readily understood.

As stated above, the post is adapted to be driven into the ground anddoes not require the digging of a post hole or tamping after it isdriven. The shape of the portion facilitates the driving, and moreoverbeing of a slightly concave form it will stay placed where it is putagainst considerable strain. The bottom part of the side flanges 2 and 3are wider at the ground line than at the top. This provides for greatstrength where it is most needed. The wires 5 may be passed into theslots and disposed in the ends of the U-shaped portions. It will beapparent that the wires will take the positions shown in Fig. 3. Thiswill give suiticient offset to the wires so as to insure their firmattachment to the post. Since the long and short slots are alternated inthe side flanges 2 and 3 the adjacent wires will-not be parallel witheach other between the flanges, but will be crossed in the manner shownin Fig. 3.

In order to further secure the wire I may use a hook such as that shownat 9, this hook being fastened to the member 1 and being of sufficientlen h to engage the wire midway between the anges 2 and 3.

A post thus formed has severaldistinct advantages. In the first place,it is made of a single piece of metal, and there are no joints to becomeloose. It is cheaply built, and is so fashioned that it will withstand aconsiderable strain. The wires can be attached to the post without theirstretchthe ground will resist a tendency to pull out ewing the concaveshape 'the 'lp wer porti0n.- l'claimz ing in an inverted U-shaped slot,and an alternating series of. slots extending to a lesser distance andterminating in. a U- shaped 1012.; I I

2. A fence post comprising a body por- -tion having slde flanges, eachof said side Longin v 'yvardly from its free edge and terminating.111.2111 inverted U-shaped slot and a"series ofls'lots extending to alesser distance and slots of each of said side members registering inheight with the shorter slots; of the ppposite side member.

' 'B ENjIAMI N RANKLIN e RmNTER.

WitnessQsz' (17E. WRIGHT,

HENRY} OLEARY.

Copies oi? this patent may be obtained for five-cents each, byaddressing the -f coinmiesioner ofl'atent s,

- ,Waehington, D. G.

,fiangee having a series of slots extending interminatingtin aU-Shapedslot, thelonger I

